Vehicle front body structures of the type concerned are known as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication (JP-A) No. 2005-112173. The disclosed vehicle front body structure includes a front side frame extending in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle body, a front pillar disposed upwardly and rearward of the front side frame, an upper member extending from a lower end of the front pillar in a forward direction of the vehicle body to the position located laterally outward of a front end portion of the front side frame. The upper member has a substantially rectilinear configuration and is arranged to slope upward in a rearward direction of the vehicle body.
By virtue of the rectilinear configuration, the upper member is rigid enough to withstand a force or load applied to a front end portion thereof in a backward direction of the vehicle body. Furthermore, since the upper member is arranged to slope upward toward the lower end of the front pillar, the load applied to the front end portion of the upper member is effectively distributed through the upper member to the front pillar and eventually born by the front pillar. The load can thus be absorbed efficiently.
The front side frame includes downwardly projecting leg portions to which a sub-frame is connected for mounting an engine, a transmission and other components thereon. Left and right front suspensions are attached to the sub-frame for supporting the vehicle body and insulating the same from road socks transmitted by left and right front road wheels.
With the vehicle front body structure thus arranged, when the vehicle is making a turn in either direction, the left and right front road wheels are subjected to lateral loads acting in a widthwise direction of the vehicle body. The lateral loads are transmitted through the respective front suspensions and the sub-frame to lower parts of the leg portions of the front side frames, tending to tilt or bend the leg portions sideways. To deal with this problem, the leg portion must be reinforced by an anti-tilt stay, which will, however, increase the overall weight of the vehicle body.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle front body structure which is highly rigid enough to withstand lateral loads applied during turning of the vehicle and also capable of reducing the weight of the vehicle body.